Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign leaned so heavily on teleprompters that even cozy donor gatherings felt like scripted TV reruns. Supporters who shelled out thousands for a personal touch were left fuming, and the reliance on canned speeches painted a troubling picture of a president tightly controlled by aides. The book 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America exposes this and more, revealing a campaign scrambling to mask Biden’s fading vigor, as Fox News reports.
The book, penned by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf, details Biden’s 2024 bid, where teleprompters became his crutch at nearly every event, including small ones. Donors expected candid chats but got robotic recitations, sparking frustration and questions about Biden’s ability to connect. It’s a far cry from the folksy charm Democrats once sold.
At a California fundraiser, Biden read from a teleprompter in a mansion’s open kitchen, addressing just 30 people. “He once read from a teleprompter in front of thirty people in the open kitchen of a Palo Alto mansion,” the book notes. Donors, who paid dearly for intimacy, felt cheated by this mechanical display, as if Biden couldn’t muster a single unscripted word.
The book mentions “teleprompter” a dozen times, mostly highlighting Biden’s dependence and staff fears of unscripted moments due to his health. Aides claimed the device kept the famously chatty president on schedule, but this excuse rings hollow. It’s less about time management and more about hiding a leader struggling to keep up.
“For most of the campaign, Biden only ever spoke with the assistance of a teleprompter, even for small private audiences,” the book states. This wasn’t just a quirk -- it was a strategy to avoid gaffes and mask Biden’s decline. The result? A campaign that felt staged, alienating even loyal supporters.
White House event planners doubled down, scripting every appearance to eliminate surprises. “If the president was going to speak, he would go to the podium, deliver remarks from a teleprompter, and leave,” the book reveals. Spontaneity was sacrificed, leaving Biden looking like a wind-up toy, not a leader.
Biden’s physical stumbles, like a public fall at a 2023 commencement, prompted staff to devise plans to prevent repeats. Some aides noted his aging, with Biden failing to recognize former staff at events. This isn’t just “physical decline,” as aides insisted -- it’s a red flag for a president in over his head.
Special counsel Robert Hur’s February 2024 report didn’t help, calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” That description, from a report rejecting criminal charges over classified materials, fueled claims of mental decline that dogged Biden since 2020. Democrats dismissed it, but the label stuck.
By June 2024, Biden’s debate against Donald Trump was a disaster -- tripping over words, speaking softly, and losing his train of thought. Democratic Party criticism erupted, with even allies admitting the performance was indefensible. The debate exposed what teleprompters had long concealed: a president struggling under pressure.
Days after the debate, Biden attended a campaign event at Rep. Dan Beyer’s Virginia home, notably without a teleprompter. “At Beyer’s house, the campaign was eager to prove Biden could speak off the cuff,” the book explains. But his six-minute speech, blaming a heavy travel schedule for the debate flop, only deepened doubts about his stamina.
Biden’s team kept access to him tightly controlled, limiting meetings to small groups. Aides insisted his decline was purely physical, but their overprotective measures suggested otherwise. It’s hard to trust a campaign that treats its candidate like a fragile antique.
The book reveals that staff went to great lengths to shield Biden, avoiding unscripted settings that might expose his weaknesses. This wasn’t leadership -- it was stage management. Voters deserved a president, not a puppet reading lines.
In July 2024, Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 race via a social media post on a Sunday afternoon. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, leaving her just over 100 days to campaign. Harris’ bid flopped, unable to rally enough support against Trump.
Fox News Digital sought comment from Biden’s office on the book’s claims but received no reply. The silence speaks volumes, as does the campaign’s reliance on teleprompters to prop up a faltering candidate. It’s a damning portrait of a presidency that lost its way.
The book’s release on Tuesday lays bare a campaign built on smoke and mirrors, with Biden’s teleprompter as the star. Donors, voters, and even Democrats deserved better than a scripted shell of a leader. America noticed -- and moved on.
